Be mine, but keep your germs to yourself

Cold season is here, which means children are arriving home from school with sniffles and sneezes.

These little tissue cozies are a cute way to wish classmates a happy Valentine’s Day while boosting the odds that they’ll keep their germs to themselves.

“Knock, knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Ah-choo!”

“Ah-choo who?”

“Ah-choose YOU for my Valentine!”

VALENTINE TISSUE COZIES

Cotton fabric for outside of tissue cozy

Cotton fabric for inside of tissue cozy and the trim along the edges of the cozy’s opening

Mini package of tissues (measurements below are based on Kleenex or CVS brand)

Needle and thread, or sewing machine

Iron

Figuring out the measurements on your own may look complicated, but in the end, you’re cutting two rectangles and sewing four straight lines, that’s it. All seam allowances are 1/4 inch.

1) Cut a 6-1/2-by-6-1/4-inch rectangle from the outside fabric. (If you’re using a different tissue brand, cut a rectangle as if you were wrapping the tissue package like a present. The first measurement is the distance around the package, the second is the length of the package plus a bit more to cover the height.)

2) Cut a 7-1/2 by 6-1/4-inch rectangle from the inside/trim fabric. (For other brands, use the same width from step 1 and add 1 inch to the length)

3) With the patterned sides together, sew the outside fabric to the inside fabric along one short end of the rectangles.

4) Keeping the patterned sides together, line up the opposite short ends and sew, forming a tube of fabric.

5) Turn the tube patterned side out and press, centering the outside fabric. You should now have a flattened rectangle, open at the top and bottom, with narrow strips of the inside fabric on either short end.

6) Fold the short sides of rectangle in until they meet in the center. Press.

7) Sew along the raw edges at the top and bottom.

8) Turn right side out and insert tissue pack.

9) Make card, if desired, and attach with ribbon.